From A Different Perspective
by calladragon
Summary: While I don't believe things would happen this way, I've challenged myself to write a Post-Bluebird three or four shot from the more "romantic" perspective.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'll hopefully be posting the next chapter of _From This Point On _laterthis week. I'm still working out how I want to get from where I am at the moment to where I'm heading in the next few chapters and it hasn't quite clicked yet. In the meantime, I'm still writing _stuff_ since one story fuels another for me. So, here's the beginning of my very short Season Finale Three or Four Shot from a different perspective. Like with _Ouroboros_ and _Settling the Score_, I'm challenging myself to write something I'm not sure I can write (since I don't believe things would happen this way) for no other reason than to see if I can pull it off half way decently. ~Calla

#

Opening her eyes, Lisbon couldn't believe she'd let Jane drive her home from the airport. Then again, she could. That last stunt he'd pulled had exhausted everyone. It had taken Abbott several hours to get the man released into his custody and she'd spent most of that time pacing the floor alone. The jerk faced TSA Agent had refused to let her back into the Interrogation Room even with her Boss's intervention. He'd mumbled something stupid like "kissing suspects is against the law." She'd wanted to demand he show her where that one was written; but, she hadn't. The look Abbott was shooting her might have had something to do with halting her belligerent stance. Anyways, she hadn't appreciated being separated unnecessarily from Jane. She still didn't. However, she'd dealt with it. Once their resident mischief maker was free, they'd all boarded the next flight out of there and never looked back.

Hopefully, none of them would be coming through that particular airport any time soon.

Unlike his three hyped-up companions, Jane had spent most of the flight from Miami back to Austin catching up on his sleep. None of the rest of them had done the same. She'd been lost in thought contemplating the best way to disentangle her life from Pike's as painlessly as possible for both of them. Although she'd let Marcus know she wasn't joining him in DC while crossing from the Tarmac to the Interrogation Room, she owed him more than the briefest of explanations for her change of heart. But, before she did that, she had to choose her words carefully.

Truthfully, she still hadn't figured out the best way to tell the man who thought she loved him that she loved another man.

Shaking her head, Lisbon's thoughts turned to her other companions. They hadn't been nearly as well behaved as Jane. She wasn't sure whether she'd wanted to laugh or smack them. Maybe pulling out her gun and shooting them would have been the most satisfactory course of action. Nah, she'd have made a mess and gotten in trouble. However, that didn't mean she couldn't let both of them know exactly how little she appreciated their behavior first thing Monday morning.

She still couldn't believe them.

Her boss and fellow agent had spent most of the flight alternating between talking about the case they'd just wrapped up and staring at the back of her head so hard she could actually _feel _it. She didn't know what they thought they were accomplishing by any of that. She did, however, know what they were thinking. Abbott was wondering why one or the other of them hadn't just called the other's bluff before things got so far out of hand. Cho was pondering how he could have missed what was happening right in front of his eyes.

Personally, she didn't get that one herself.

How Kimball could ever think she and Jane had a sibling relationship was beyond her. He knew both of them better than anyone and he'd observed their interactions for years. He'd seen how frantic they both got if the other was endangered or hurt. He knew Jane had killed for her…Sacrificed viable leads to Red John…He knew how frantic and depressed she'd been during Jane's six month hiatus in Vegas...How badly his whatever the hell that was with Lorelei had derailed her...In the end, she'd given up easy street and a good retirement to follow Jane to the FBI for goodness sakes. If anyone should have recognized the truth of their situation, it was Kimball Cho. Even _she_ would have seen it had she been on the outside looking in. But, he claimed he hadn't. All she could think was he'd pull a Rigsby and hadn't wanted to.

Cho was too good a cop to be so foolish.

"You know, you got yourself in a crap load of trouble back there." Lisbon gave Jane a conspiratorial smirk. "While I don't think Abbott really cares we're together, he didn't appreciate having to jump through hoops to get your sorry butt out of the TSA's clutches."

"I'm sure he didn't; but, I'd do it all again." There wasn't an ounce of regret in Jane's voice. "I didn't appreciate having the best kiss I've had…in a very long time...interrupted by that mindless goon either."

It didn't sound quite right to say in his life and he didn't think Lisbon would believe him anyway. But, she'd be wrong. He'd never been in danger of losing everything with Angela…Not until that fateful night he actually had…But, he couldn't say the same for the woman beside him.

He'd been mere seconds from her willfully exiting his life forever so he'd say that kiss was without a doubt the best damned kiss he'd had in his life for the simple reason she'd decided to stay instead.

"As I recall, we didn't let him interrupt anything." Lisbon gently reminded him. "He wouldn't have been beating on the glass so long if we had."

"You might have a point there." Jane leaned in to give her a gentle kiss. "If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't wait so long."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lisbon asked.

"That Marcus would never have gotten a chance to sweep you off your feet." Jane said as he opened his door. "I'll get your bag."

"I'll let you." Lisbon said as she reached out to halt him. "You want to come in?"

She could tell by Jane's demeanor he intended to walk her to her door, see her safely inside, and take his leave. They'd had a long couple of days and he knew she was tired. Beyond that, they'd taken a gigantic step a few short hours ago neither of them really expected. One neither of them was necessarily ready for.

While Lisbon was fairly sure Jane had meant to let her know he didn't want her to go, that he had feelings beyond friendship for her, and that he wanted her to stay, she was equally sure he'd never meant to say those three little words either. Not yet. He clearly hadn't been emotionally prepared to go quite as far as he had and it was a lot to take in. Even for her. Jane probably thought it best to give them both some breathing room to think things over.

She wasn't sure that was such a good idea.

"Yeah, I think I do." Jane surprised her. "Give me a minute." He hit the button to unlock the trunk.

"Get your bag while you're at it." Lisbon said. "It's too late to drive out to your place tonight and we don't have to be at the office in the morning so you might as well stay."

Jane nodded thinking the mattress in Lisbon's spare room was even more comfortable than the one he had at home and that was saying a lot. Grabbing both suitcases, he followed her towards her townhouse noting every swing of her hips. Somehow, he had a feeling that prissy walk was for his benefit and a certain part of his anatomy was enjoying the show. Watching Lisbon unlock her door and throw it open, he carried their suitcases inside.

"You want me to drop this by your room?" Jane asked as he glanced in the direction of her stairs.

"You might as well." Lisbon said. "Why don't you shower and change while you're at it and I'll do the same. I'd say we're both pretty grubby wouldn't you?"

"Sounds like a plan." Jane agreed. "I'll meet you down here in a few."

"Just don't get any funky ideas because we've kissed." Lisbon said walking into her kitchen. "Oh, and stay out of my shower since I'm going to be using it in a few minutes. I don't care if you like mine better than yours."

Or the shower that had been his on the occasional night he'd stayed over before she'd started dating Pike.

Neither of them had thought anything about it. He'd been camping out on her couch every once in a while for years. Or he had in Sacramento. When she'd moved to Austin, she'd gotten a steal on a bigger place in a recently built complex they were trying to fill. Getting a three bedroom for less than the price of a two was too good to pass up considering she got both an "office" and a decent sized guest room as part of the deal. Who cared that she didn't really need the extra space?

Jane had soon convinced her she did. He'd grown quite competent at arranging those perfectly innocent, impromptu sleep-overs over the years. The sneaky bastard. He had another think coming if he thought he was moving into her place once they started seriously dating. Stay over once in a while, yeah. But, crashing her space permanently was a different story.

Ignoring her, Jane carried both suitcases up the stairs knowing Lisbon would soon follow.


	2. Chapter 2

"Took you long enough." Jane observed as Lisbon plopped down on the couch beside him. "There must have been a whole lot of dirt you needed to scrub off."

"Would you be quiet?" Lisbon snarked. "Maybe I just wanted a long, hot soak after all the trouble you've put me through."

"Maybe you deserved one." Jane conceded. "But, I was starting to wonder if you were ever coming down or if you drowned."

"It didn't take you long to raid my private stash did it?" Dismissing his grumble, Lisbon nodded in the direction of the two glasses of red wine and her favorite cheese and crackers sitting on the coffee table. "Or make yourself at home."

"I didn't think you'd mind." Jane shook his head at the smirk she was trying to hide. "And I thought a glass of wine would take the edge off."

"If you wanted to take the edge off, you should have headed for that bottle of Bourbon hiding in the back corner of the pantry." Lisbon commented mildly surprised he hadn't. "I can assure you it's just as full as you left it."

"I thought you'd have thrown that out by now." Jane gave her a pointed stare. "Why didn't you?"

"Why would I?" Lisbon asked. "We were friends, Jane. Just because I was dating someone else didn't mean I never expected you to drop by again. Even if I'm not nuts about the stuff, that's an expensive bottle to toss in the garbage. Especially considering it didn't belong to me."

Even if Jane had been perfectly willing to share and she'd taken a few sips to make him happy.

"I did drop by a number of times." Jane said quietly. "Every time I did, you weren't home or Pike was here."

Mercifully, it was usually the former and not the latter.

"We were seeing each other." Lisbon defended herself against that unvoiced _something _in Jane's tone before taking a healthy swig of wine. "I even said I'd marry him." She reminded him unnecessarily. "Besides, it wasn't like you couldn't have picked up the phone to let me know you wanted to come over. We could have made plans when Marcus wasn't around. It's not like you haven't done that before."

Although he usually preferred to catch her off guard by just dropping by to giving her that warning telephone call.

"As you've already said, you were seeing someone." Jane studied the wine eddying in his glass as though the wisdom of the universe could be deciphered in those ruby swirls. "It wouldn't have been proper."

Lisbon snorted. "Since when do you care about proper?"

"Since you were finally serious about someone and I didn't want to interfere." Taking a healthy swig from his glass, Jane silently approved of Lisbon's selection. "Don't look so surprised. It's not like I expected to find myself unwilling to live without you. I tried to be happy for you instead."

"I know you did." Lisbon agreed. "I tried to be happy, too. But, I wasn't. Not as happy as I should have been."

"It wasn't right." Jane told her. "When it's right, you know it."

"Is that so?" Lisbon asked. "Maybe that's why something always felt off with Marcus."

"He wasn't the one." Jane said quietly. "We both know that."

"Yeah, we do." Lisbon reluctantly agreed. "I just wish I'd realized that before everything got so messy."

"A part of you always knew." Jane told her quietly. "You wouldn't have had that look in your eyes every time I showed up to say I just wanted you to be happy if you hadn't."

"What look is that?" Lisbon asked. "The one begging you to tell me how you really felt?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Jane admitted with equal reluctance. "The one I ignored for what I thought was the greater good."

"The look you ignored in favor of being an idiot." Lisbon stated bluntly. "You have no idea how bad it hurt every time you told me how happy you were I was with Marcus. Like you thought I couldn't see the truth in _your_ eyes. You were anything but."

"That's true." Jane agreed. "I guess the only thing left to ask is why you didn't call my bluff?"

"It wasn't my place." Lisbon said quietly. "Every time I'd tried to do that in the past you always evaded me. I ended up more confused than I was before. I wasn't doing it again. You were going to have to come to me."

Staring into her eyes, Jane knew she was remembering that whole "Love you, Lisbon" thing before everything had imploded in Vegas. She had called him on it and he'd adroitly sidestepped the issue without telling her a thing. He'd had no other choice. He couldn't put her at that much additional risk. The hell of it was, yes, he'd meant it and he'd meant it exactly as she'd hoped he did. He just hadn't meant to tell her.

The words slipped out.

"I can see where you might feel that way." Jane agreed. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do that before things got so out of hand. But, I've done it now."

"Yes, you have." Lisbon said. "And I've accepted your overture."

Lisbon leaned back and stared at Jane only to find him staring back at her. All she could think was Jane had a vaguely stunned, "what comes next" kind of look on his face. She was pretty sure she bore a similar expression. Things had happened pretty fast between them. It wasn't like they'd really had time to talk or even to consider their next move. While the last twelve years might have been leading up to now, they didn't exactly have a "How To" Manuel telling them _this_ comes next.

All they really knew was they wanted to be together.

However that came into being.

From the way things looked at the moment, it coming very fumbling.

"What are you doing?" Lisbon watched Jane staring at his hand and knew what he was contemplating before he slowly slid the ring from his finger. "You can't do that."

Just the thought of him removing that ring took her breath away.

"I already have." Jane pressed his wedding band into the palm of her hand and gently closed her fingers over the circle of gold. "Teresa, I can't love you as I should and still cling to Angela as I have. She'll always be in my heart. She doesn't need to be on my hand."

Leaning forward to carefully place Jane's gift on her coffee table, Lisbon shot him one more questioning look.

"I'm okay." Jane reassured her. "I took it off once on the island not long after I met Fischer. It didn't feel quite right so I put it back on. I wasn't sure it would ever be right. Now, I know it just wasn't time."

"But it is tonight?" Lisbon glanced at the ring lying so innocently on her coffee table before picking it up. "Are you sure about that?"

"What do you think?" There was a challenge in Jane's gaze. "Do you honestly think I'd give that to you if it wasn't?" Jane nodded in the direction of his ring. "I'm not going to ask you to give it back. You have my word. It's time to let them go in peace. I won't lie and say the transition will be easy. But, it has to be done and I'm willing to do it." Jane didn't have to voice the implied "for you."

She could see it in his eyes.

"Then I'll accept your offer." Lisbon laid the ring back on the table. "And I'll put it in a safe place…If you ever want it back, all you have to do is ask."

Jane gave her a tentative smile knowing he wouldn't. What he might very well want was for her to put another ring in its place before too long. Time would tell.

"I won't be doing that." Jane reassured her. "But, I will be doing this." Taking her wine glass from her hand and setting it on the table, he grabbed Lisbon's hand to gently pull her up and over to rest against his chest.

"What exactly is this?" Lisbon gave him a questioning look as she settled in more comfortably. "Not that it really matters. I could get real used to having a Jane pillow."

"Not much at the moment." Jane told her. "But, I'm hoping to change your mind."

"You are, are you?" He was moving a lot to fast for her. "I'm not so sure about that."

"I am." Jane said. "I think you will be, too."

"You do?" Lisbon said. "Why is that?"

"It's simple really. We're two consenting adults who care deeply for each other." She had to know that even though he'd only said those three little words that once on the plane. He certainly knew how she felt and she hadn't really said them at all. However, they'd both conveyed their feelings any number of ways over the past few years including recently. "It's taken us twelve long years to get to this point so we certainly haven't moved hastily. I'd say since we've covered the most important bases, there really shouldn't be a problem with taking our relationship to the next level."

"You would, would you?" Lisbon grinned evilly at him. "I think you just want to get in my pants."

"I think the feeling's mutual." Jane laughed out loud at the predatory look on her face. "Am I succeeding?"

"Maybe." Lisbon laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "It's certainly looking more promising than it did."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: A thousand apologies. My Muse packed her bag and flew the coop for an extended vacation. She hasn't really returned, the stinker. While this story isn't what I intended when I started, I'd rather finish the tale than leave it hanging indefinitely. That being said, the rating has dropped to a more appropriate "T".

On the blog front, thank you for all of the input. I'll put the suggestions to use eventually. You guys are the best.

Oh, and thanks to those of you who recently reviewed/favorited Ouroboros. Thank you for enjoying the story in all its strangeness! It was fun to write.

Anyways, I'm still alive and I intend to finish these stories. Eventually. It's just taking a while. Between editing the novels (I'm finally able to put the excellent feedback I got from the RWA contests into practice after a year and a half) and my Muse taking a hike, I'm kind of short on fanfic inspiration. ~Calla

#

In spite of her words, Lisbon knew she wasn't going to suddenly start tearing Jane's clothes off any more than he was about to do the same to her. In spite of their spicy banter, and knowing they were heading in that direction, the actual moment hadn't arrived yet. Too much hung in the air between them.

"You know, we're damned if we do and damned if we don't." Lisbon's laugh was more raw than amused. "By the time we get to work on Monday there'll be fifty versions of what happened on Islamorada making the rounds. Not a one will be flattering or true."

"What else is new?" Jane's replied flippantly. "Who cares anyway?"

His tone clearly said he didn't. Resisting the urge to push up and pummel Jane for his stupidity, Lisbon conveyed her displeasure with a sharp snort instead.

"Are you for real?" She demanded. "We're supposed to let everyone think and say whatever they please like they have the right?"

"Why not?" Jane asked. "People believe what they want to believe. They always have and…."

"They always will." Lisbon finished for him. "Even if we wish it was different."

"Even if we do." Jane gently brushed her hair back from her face. "Why bother worrying about something we can't change anyway?" His point was valid if Lisbon would only see it. "Whether we like it or not, the old rumors followed us here. Every last one of them. If you thought any differently, you're better at denial than I am."

"I'm not." There was no point in lying since Jane would call her on it. "I've heard the whispers too."

She might have spent a couple of years in a Podunk town where she was a fairly big fish in a tiny pond; but, she hadn't been completely lulled into that false sense of security. While the edges might have blurred, she hadn't completely forgotten what it was like in the real world of Law Enforcement. Well, maybe she had, a little. But, she'd gotten a fairly brutal refresher course soon after joining the FBI. It hadn't taken long to figure out she was just another minnow in a pond filled with much larger fish with sharp, gnashy teeth.

Compounding first impressions, her actions in the early days of Jane's "recruitment" to the Bureau had raised eyebrows among her peers. Her eventual defection to Abbott's unit as Jane's handler hadn't helped their current situation. How comfortably she'd fallen into place in her "new" position and Jane's obvious happiness at having her there hadn't gone unnoticed either. In fact, their actions had only alerted the seasoned gossip mongers there was more to their whacked out fairytale than met the eye.

That, in turn, had started the bottom feeders digging as only Law Enforcement can. Unfortunately, their efforts had proven fruitful and they'd uncovered unsavory events better left buried… Enough of them to set tongues wagging and dissuade wise men from pursuing her… Pike obviously hadn't fallen into that category…He'd foolishly chosen to walk where angels fear to tread.

If that wasn't sin enough, their aborted relationship would unleash a fresh inferno of unsubstantiated claims everyone would be quick to declare truth.

Lisbon was positive everyone at HQ already knew Jane had driven her home from the airport and that he'd yet to leave her place several hours later. Or they would long before either of them returned to work on Monday. They were so done. They might as well commit the "crime" they'd be convicted of in the court of public opinion. She was certain no one would believe they hadn't.

Who cared about the truth when gossip was better?

"What whispers are those?" Jane asked with a surprisingly straight face.

"Oh, you know the ones." Two could play that game.

"You mean the one's saying we've been banging like bunnies since Day One?" Making a rude noise, Lisbon shook her head in defeat.

"Yep, those would be the ones." She agreed.

"They've never bothered you before." Jane said quietly. "Why let them bother you now?"

"Because they're true." Raising up, Lisbon gave him a frustrated look. "Or they will be eventually." Talking about someone burying their head in the sand…. "Besides, if we'd been going at it since the get go, all the hell you've put me through over the years would have been worth it or I'd have dumped your butt long ago." Looking into her eyes, Jane didn't doubt her words for a second. Lisbon's expression was enough to give any man a serious case of performance anxiety. Fortunately, he wasn't prone to that kind of thing so he couldn't care less. "Since we weren't, what do you have to say for yourself, Mister?"

"Wanna make up for lost time?" Jane's irreverent smirk said he wasn't affected in the least by the finger so rudely poking him in the chest or the angry spiel she'd vomited on him.

"You offering?" Lisbon quipped reminding him risqué banter was one thing…follow through another.

"Yeah, I think I am," Jane stated firmly with none of the doubt his statement implied. "More than offering."

"Then, yeah, I think I'm taking you up on the offer." Lisbon said with equal conviction.

"Yeah?" Jane's lips quirked in a smile that was more ravenous than affectionate.

"Oh, yeah." Lisbon agreed.

"Then I'd say you don't need this." Jane reached down to lift the well worn sleep jersey over her head and toss it aside before fixing her with a slightly surprised look. "I'd also say you were expecting things to heat up before the evening was over."

"That doesn't mean it was going to happen;" Lisbon admitted not denying what he could see. "But, a girl can hope can't she?"

"I suppose she can." Jane agreed. "Although I wasn't expecting this."

He motioned to the lacy lingerie leaving little to the imagination knowing darned well Lisbon didn't wear things like this under her work clothes. It wasn't practical in the least. Added to that, he'd sneaked a peak in her lingerie drawer enough in the past to know what was and, more importantly, what wasn't hidden away in there and he'd _never_ seen anything like this. He might have relieved her of it if he had.

As perverse as his actions seemed now, he'd considered his covert forays into the forbidden an acceptable way of keeping tabs on the private life Lisbon kept much too private. He hadn't cared the woman would neuter him if she caught him rummaging her panty drawer. Mercifully she never had and mercifully there hadn't been much going on before Pike. He was as sure of that as he could be considering the pretty, but much too conservative, bits he'd constantly seen prior to that last interlude when his clandestine forays had come to abrupt end.

What he did know was the pretty emerald wisps she was wearing hadn't screamed seduction to any other man.

Not considering he'd purchased them to go under that beautiful emerald lace dress he hoped Lisbon hadn't jettisoned on Islamorada in a fit of pique. Jenny, his ever helpful sales associate, had assured him she had the perfect undergarments to go under that dress via Chat and he'd taken her at her word once she'd sent him photographs backing her claim. Deciding, that while he liked the vision before him, he still hoped to see Lisbon in that dress Jane ruminated on the possibility she'd left his purchases behind in her abandoned hotel room. It would be a crying shame if she had since that piece, of all of his purchases, was his favorite. He'd known she'd look beautiful in that dress and he'd eagerly anticipated seeing her wearing it.

He'd just as eagerly anticipated getting her out of it although with hindsight he doubted things would have gotten that far even if his poorly thought out plan had worked as he hoped.

Truthfully, in typical Jane fashion, he hadn't thought far enough ahead to work out precisely what _should_ happen after he convinced Lisbon to drop Pike and give him a fighting chance. Persuading her to get with the program was all he'd cared about. Once he'd removed the threat to their relationship and prevented his woman from leaving him, he'd been positive things would fall back into place over time. They always did. What that meant exactly he hadn't known at the time.

What he did know was he hadn't wasted much time thinking about taking their relationship to the next level. He'd given even less thought to the actual consummation. He'd known he wasn't ready to go there any time soon as fervently as he'd known he wasn't willing to let Lisbon go. He'd concentrated, instead, on stopping her defection before it was too late since preventing Pike from getting that ring on her finger mattered most in the big scheme of things. Maybe he'd been too idealistic in his thinking.

"You should have been." Lisbon patted his cheek condescendingly. "I guess that goes to show you don't know me quite as well as you think you do. Oh, and you're an idiot if you think I'd toss all those expensive purchases because you pissed me off."

The slight nod of her head emphasized the silent, "So not happening, Buster." Jane could read in her eyes. All three of those dresses were hanging in her closet upstairs. Perhaps a tad wrinkled from being angrily crammed into her suitcase; but, nothing her steamer couldn't handle. If she had her way, she'd be wearing all of them before too long. Austin had plenty of upscale restaurants Marcus hadn't taken her to. Whether he knew it or not, she and Jane were visiting every last one of them on his dime.

Just wait and see.

"Perhaps I don't." Jane agreed deciding none of that bothered him as much as it should have. "I'm assuming that's your way of saying you'd have worn those dresses for Pike?"

"You better believe it." Lisbon snapped. "What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, I doubt Marcus would have cared that much if he did find out. Not knowing it was compensation for the latest crap you'd pulled."

If things had worked out differently and her lover had cared, Lisbon's tone said he'd have gotten over it if he knew what was good for him.

"That's one way of looking at it." Jane agreed. "And you may be right."

He wasn't sure he'd go that far. But, Lisbon was entitled to her opinion...Even a wrong one…He was a man. He knew better. His rival wouldn't have been as indifferent as she seemed to think. To say Marcus would have been upset by her attitude would be an understatement. He certainly would be in a similar situation. No woman of his would ever wear an expensive collection of dresses given to her by a man who wasn't her father.

Not even if they weren't lovers.

So not happening no matter what Lisbon said.

Then again, Pike would have probably sucked it up in the end if he knew what was good for him. Lisbon could be stubborn like that and Jane knew she would never have parted with the one truly thoughtful thing he'd ever done for her. At least that's how she'd have justified upsetting her significant other to herself. The real reason was far different and he wasn't going there. Not out loud.

It wouldn't get him anything he wanted in the end.

"I may be." Lisbon's tone said the subject was closed. "What I don't know is how you knew all the right sizes to buy unless you've been snooping around where you shouldn't."

"Would I do that?" Jane refused to answer on the grounds it would incriminate him.

"Yes." As much as she wanted to be angry with him, she really wasn't. "You would and I should make you sleep alone tonight."

"You should." Jane agreed. "But you won't."

"No, I won't." Lisbon agreed. "We've waited too long for this."

"Yes, we have, and this looks nice on you." Jane toyed with the strap of her bra. "I'd like you to wear it under the green dress when we go out to dinner tomorrow night."

"You're taking me out to dinner?" Lisbon quirked a brow at him. "This is the first I've heard about it."

"We'll talk about it later." Jane said as he reached behind her to unfasten her bra. "Right now I can think of better things to do with our time."

"Oh, yeah?" Lisbon mirrored his smirk back at him. "What might that be?"

"If I have tell you," Jane said. "You're not ready to play."

"Oh, really?" Shrugging out of her bra and tossing it aside, Lisbon leaned in to give him a toe scorching kiss. "You might need to rethink that."

"Maybe I do." Jane agreed as he realized Lisbon had skillfully removed his pajama top in the midst of pleasantly mauling him and was well on her way to divesting him of his pants as well when he hadn't felt a thing. Well, maybe he'd felt _something_; but, it wasn't his clothes slipping away. "We seem to be on the same page without my saying a thing."

"You think?" Lisbon smirked at the mild surprise on Jane's face at how quickly she'd gotten them down to skin on skin.

"Oh, yeah." Jane agreed quickly deciding if Lisbon wanted to take charge, he wasn't stopping her.

Not when his eyes were already rolling back in his head.


	4. Chapter 4

Walking down the stairs, Lisbon enjoyed the scent of fresh brewed coffee wafting from her kitchen before heading in the direction of her den instead. Meandering over to the French doors she sneaked a peak at Jane deciding he looked more tense than he should under the circumstances…She hoped he wasn't having second thoughts about what they'd done…She certainly wasn't…She'd enjoyed being with him too much and she thought he'd felt the same.

Turning around, Lisbon headed back to her kitchen to collect her thoughts. Pulling two mugs from her cabinet, she proceeded to make as close to her "Special Coffee" as she could since she didn't have the right ingredients. But, close enough. Carrying the mugs out on the patio, she was glad Jane had left the door slightly cracked.

"Hey, you, why didn't you wake me up?" Lisbon dropped a kiss on the top of his head as she pressed the mug into Jane's hand ignoring his quizzical expression. "Just drink it already, okay?"

Taking a tentative sip, Jane set his cup aside. "Irish coffee?"

"Close enough." Lisbon agreed knowing the Whiskey wasn't Irish and the lightly whipped cream wasn't fresh but out of a can. "I know it's not tea; but, it's still delicious."

"Yes, it is." Jane agreed taking her mug out of hand before drawing her down to sit on his lap. "You're more delicious."

"You think so?" Lisbon pulled back from his pleasantly sloppy kiss.

"Oh, yeah." Jane agreed smirking at her. "Even if you taste like coffee when I'd much prefer tea."

"You really need to expand your horizons." Placing her hands on each side of his face, Lisbon leaned in to return his teasing buss with a tender kiss before her expression turned infinitely more serious. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Jane asked as he took a sip from her cup watching her brow rise at his audacity.

"Because things happened faster than either of expected them to." Lisbon admitted.

But, not so fast her neighbor across the way and two doors down hadn't already figured out the score if the double thumbs up she was giving her was any indication. Lisbon wasn't sure how she felt about that. Except she wasn't too happy that the one woman she didn't want discovering their "secret" had done just that. Having Marjorie of all people realize she'd found a replacement for Marcus before anyone even knew they were over made Lisbon look downright trampy in anyone's eyes and her "friend" wouldn't hesitate to spread the word.

Added to that, if the man she was sitting on was anyone other than Jane, she'd feel trampy, too. But, she didn't. Their relationship wasn't some sleazy Friday night hook up started at the local bar. It was a love affair over a decade in the making. While her acquaintance wasn't privy to those details, the truth was all that mattered. All Marj really cared about was she'd scored a particularly fine looking piece of "ass" the other woman wouldn't mind sampling herself.

Not that Lisbon would volunteer the specifics. No way. Not to that piranha. They weren't that close although Marjorie would try to play it that way. Not happening. Her personal life wasn't any of older woman's business nor would it ever be. Besides, the entire complex would know she was doing the handsome blonde guy in however long it took Marjorie to spread the word.

The one who _used_ to come around before the other less attractive guy started staying over.

Actually, the story would probably go more along the lines that Lisbon in 212 was banging that blonde hottie _again. _You know; the one she_ used _to do on a semi-regular basis.Marjorie had never believed she wasn't sleeping with Jane in the first place. No matter how many times Lisbon denied it. That she admitted they were just friends and that was as far as it went. The other woman just wouldn't buy it.

She'd flat out called her a liar to her face.

Probably because there was no way she wouldn't be doing Jane if given the chance. Like that was ever happening. Not if Lisbon had anything to say about. Forget Jane's opinion on the matter even if she was positive he'd feel the same way. That she-wolf in sheep's clothing wasn't getting anywhere near her man. She'd see to that.

"Twelve years is hardly fast." Jane gently reminded her. "And, yes, I'm better than okay. Besides, we've already had this discussion. Things have hardly changed in the last few hours."

"Yeah, well some things have." Lisbon said. "We've done…_that_…now."

"That?" Jane's look conveyed exactly how childish he thought she sounded…_That_ indeed and a mighty fine _that_ if he said so himself all however many times they'd copulated. He'd lost count somewhere along the way although he was sure he could figure it out if he thought about it enough. "I hardly think making love to you would negatively impact my emotional well being." He reached out to caress her cheek. "I should say just the opposite in fact."

That wasn't completely true; but, he'd handle any lingering issues on his own. Lisbon didn't need to jump to any unfounded conclusions as she was wont to do. So what if his emotions were more convoluted than the average widower's? He'd had a more traumatic past than most. But, he'd deal with them. He had too much to lose not to.

Besides, _issues_ were not the same as _regrets_ and he didn't have any of those.

"You would, huh?" Lisbon's light tone belied the knowing glint in her eyes. "While I'll take you at your word, I know you aren't being completely honest with me. If your demons get too much, talk to me. We're in this together so that means everything…The good, the bad, and the really ugly…Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Jane said quietly before changing the subject to one less uncomfortable. "Do you realize it's taken us longer to get together than some marriages last?" He pointed out. "Especially the ones we know about."

They'd seen a lot of marriages break up over the years at the CBI and a couple since joining the FBI.

"I hadn't really thought about it." She didn't want to either. "But you're right. The kind of work we do is hard on a relationship especially when one partner isn't Law Enforcement."

"Then we won't ever have that problem." Jane's eyebrow rose questioningly as he stared across the way. "I've been trying to ignore it; but, your friend over there seems pleased to see us together." He nodded in the direction of the other woman so intently watching them. "Perhaps more pleased than she should be considering we don't know each other."

They were never going to if he had anything to say about it. There was something about that broad creeping him out. Like maybe she was way too interested in what was going on at Lisbon's place.

"Marjorie's just glad someone is getting some or she thinks they are whether it's true or not." Lisbon groused. "The woman's obsessed with sex and everyone's sex life. She must not have one of her own." She had yet to answer that secret of the universe.

What she did know was Marjorie was much too nosy about things that were none of her business.

"I'd say she has one if the man walking out on her patio is any indication." Jane nodded in the direction of the other apartment. "If I don't miss my guess, he's a good twenty years younger than she is."

Glancing up to take in the younger man wearing the low slung shorts and nothing else, Lisbon started in recognition.

"Oh, that's just 'ew' and try closer to thirty years." Watching the couple erotically nuzzling each other, she wondered where the eye bleach was when she needed it. "I did not need to see that."

"She's a good looking woman." Jane raised an eyebrow in Lisbon's direction at her unexpected reaction to the red head's salacious activities. "And while he's young, I can assure you that guy is old enough to know what he wants and he appears to want her. Since she seems to feel the same, I don't see what the problem is."

"You don't know the rest of the story." Lisbon said. "That's Brent something or the other. He's been her son's best friend since kindergarten. Her words not mine when she introduced both of them in passing."

"That does put a different slant on the story." Jane agreed with a devilish smirk. "Whatever. It's none of our business if your neighbor chooses to fish a little closer to home than either of us would be comfortable doing. They're two consenting adults. Let's leave it at that."

Lisbon bit back the "barely" almost passing her lips.

"No, it isn't." Lisbon agreed. "But, it's still more than I ever wanted to know. I'll be back in a minute. You need a refill?"

"I don't think so." Jane glanced at his cup. "Get your caffeine fix. I'll be here when you return."

"You better be." Leaning in, Lisbon pressed her lips against his breaking the kiss when Jane moved to deepen it. "Marjorie's doing more than enough exhibitionism for both of us." She nodded in the direction of the other patio.

Following her gaze, Jane's eyebrow rose as he quickly decided what was going on over there was way more than anyone should see. They needed to get a room all ready. The woman was clearly used to making a spectacle of herself and enjoyed it a little too much.

Perhaps Lisbon was right and this was definitely an 'ew' moment.

Smirking at Jane's reaction, Lisbon skipped away to fetch her refill wishing she could block the images of the other woman devouring that kid from her mind. Not that Brent seemed to mind. He didn't. It was just the rest of the unfortunates forced to watch the show who did. Pouring fresh coffee in her cup, Lisbon wasn't all that surprised to feel Jane's arm encircling her from behind. Adding sugar and cream to her cup, she took a quick sip before setting her cup back on the counter.

"Marjorie's antics get a little too much for you?" She turned into his embrace. "I know she's way too much for me."

"Maybe." Jane agreed. "Or maybe I missed you."

"Right." Lisbon said as she leaned up to give him a kiss. "I was only gone a couple of minutes."

"Well, maybe I thought there were more pleasant things we could do in here than hanging out there being watched by your friend." Jane answered honestly. "She gives me the creeps."

"Marjorie's more of a vulgar acquaintance than a friend." Lisbon corrected him. "She's far too nosey and she thinks you have a mighty fine ass. Her words not mine."

"I don't think I like her looking at my ass." Jane responded back. "I know I don't. I'd much prefer she keep her eyes, and her hands, to herself. She's not my kind of woman."

"I'll be sure to relay that." Lisbon snickered at his righteous indignation. "However, I agree with her sentiment. You do have a nice butt and I should know. I've seen you naked."

"You can see me naked again if you'd like." Jane decided she was welcome to see him naked for the rest of their lives as long as he got to return the favor.

"You making an offer?" Lisbon laughed softly at the amusing sense of déjà vu flooding her senses.

"What do you think?" Jane cocked a brow at her.

"That I'd definitely like." Lisbon answered. "Just not down here while they're out there." She nodded in the direction of her patio and prying eyes.

Taking her silent cue, Jane walked over to the glass doors and closed the blinds shutting out unwelcome intrusions before returning to Lisbon's side. Feeling his eyes boring into hers, Lisbon knew he was waiting for her to make the next move. Briefly contemplating whether she wanted to relive that first heated encounter on her couch, Lisbon decided she wasn't really comfortable knowing Marjorie and Brent were out there even with the blinds closed. She'd much prefer knowing they were truly alone considering how she felt about her lover.

Leaning in to give him a hungry kiss, Lisbon grasped Jane's hand as she led him up those stairs firmly convinced they could deal with whatever the future held as long as they did it together.

From the look in his eyes, Jane felt the same and that was enough for the moment.


End file.
